Garment manufacture



March 19, 1935. A. LHTTLE GARMENT MANUFACTURE Filed Sept. 7,' 1954 IllEIL 73 2220721802 flABEP? L/7'7Z. E

Patented Mar. 19, 1935 UNITED. STATES PATENT OFF E GARMENT MANUFACTUREAlbert Little, Watertown, Mass. 7 Application September 7, 1934, SerialNo. 743,079v

7 Claims.

1 out such seams in fitting the garment to the customer or wearer.

' Heretofore, the side seams of'mens vests have commonly beeninaccessibly concealed by the lining so that it is necessary to openthelining (usually by ripping out the neck seams), turn the-vest insideout, open the then exposed side seams, restitch the seam at its properlocation, turn the waistcoat right side out, and fell the openingbyhand, in order to adjust the size of the garment to the individual.These operations are laborious, time-consumingand expensive; and thepresent invention provides an improved mode of side-seaming whicheliminates many of the aforesaid operations 1 and consequentlysimplifies and reduces the costof adjusting the size or fit of thegarment, without detracting from its utility, appearance or fittingqualities.

' The specific features and additional advantages of the improved methodand construction will be apparent from the following description of arecommended embodiment of this invention, as illustrated in theaccompanying drawing, in which:'

Fig. lis a composite plan view of the three es- T sential parts orsections utilized in producing onehalf of a vest fashioned in accordancewith this invention; Y

Fig. 2 is a similar view showing the three parts assembled and connectedtogether, the front of the vest being folded over onto the back; a r

Fig. 3 is an enlarged section taken on line 3-3 of Fig. 2; i

Fig. 4 is a view ther step in the stitching of the garment;

Fig. 5 is an inside view of the finished vest; partly broken away;

Fig. 6 is an'enlarged section taken on line 6-6 of Fig. 5 and Fig. 7 isa detailed view of the improved side seams, illustrating one mode ofadjusting the size similar to Fig; 2 showing a air-- pared forassembling in accordance with common practice. It will be understoodthat complemental duplicates of the sections 11 and 12, as shown in Fig.1, are prepared for assembling the other half of the vest; and that thetwo back pieces are connected in the usual manner to complete the.finished garment, as indicated in Fig. 5, the respective halves beingsubstantially identical in construction. i I

In accordance with the present invention, I provide an additional orauxiliary piece of material 13, preferably of the same texture andappearance as the back section 12 and front lining 14, which is joinedtothe connected edges of the front and back sections andultimately formsa pocket or envelope which covers the side seam but allows free accessthereto'fcr the purpose of adjusting the width or circumference of'thevest. The utilization of the same type of lining material for the frontlinings, back sections and side pieces, presents a distinctandharmonious appearance throughout the inside of the vest, and enhancesthe attractiveness and desirability of this preferred mode of styling,which has become known as fSuper Harmony Trim.

In Fig. 1,the front section 11 has been lined, hemmed and finished inthe customary way, and the back 12 is hemmed at the outer edge 15 and atthe armholelfi. The envelope or side piece 13 is of rectangular shape,relatively narrow and substantially longer than the unfinished,complemental edge 'l'l'of the front section and slightly longer than thecomplementalmargin 18 of the back section. One margin of piece 13 ishemmed at 19, the opposite edge 20 being unfinished;

To assemble these three garment pieces, the front and back sections arepreferably superposed with the outer surfaces faceto face, and the sidepiece 13 is laid upon the lined side -'of the front 11, so that theunfinished edges are substantially in registration (Figs. 2 and 3).These margins are then stitched together along the seam 21, remote fromthe extreme edges thereof,the stitching passing throughthe piece 13,front lining 14, front outer fabric 11 and backsection 12. At this stagethe ends of theside piece are free and project beyond the correspondingedges of thefront section.

In the next operatiomthe free ends of auxiliary piece 13 are stitched tothe adjacentmarg'ins of the back section 12 by seams 22 and 23 '(Fig. 4)at the top and bottom thereof, respectively but these seams do notengage the lined front 11. The rough edges 17, 18 and 20 are thenfinishedbythe overcasted stitches or-serging 24, and the overcasting iscarried around the corners and along the ends of the piece 13 and theadjacent margins of the back piece 12, as shown at 25 and 26. Theassembly is now completed, and the pocket thus formed by the side pieceor flap 13 is turned right side out by opening the front and backsections to the position shown in Figs. 5 and 6, the pocket beingindicated at 2'7 and extending from the armhole to the bottom edge ofthe vest, on the inside of the garment. The finished halfvest is thenattached to its complemental half (having a pocket similar to 27) andthe garment is pressed and ready for fitting or wear.

If the fitting indicates that the side seams should be taken in or letout, in order to reduce or enlarge the width or circumference of thegarment, one or both pockets 27 are turned inside out to expose the seam21, as shown in Figs. 4 or '7. In the latter view, a new seam 28 hasbeen stitched inside the former seam, thereby to decrease the effectivewidth of the vest (by twice the distance between the two seams), andtheold seam 21 may remain in place or be ripped out if preferred. It willbe apparent that the garment may be let out by stitching the newseamoutside of the old, in which event the old seam must be removed;and; it will alsobe evident that the new seam may extend at an angle tothe old, as well as parallel to it, as circumstances may require. In anycase, the relative position of the garment pieces will be preserved bythe original seam until the new and'correct seam is finished. The pocketis then reversed by restoring the vest tothe position shown in Fig. 5,the parts are pressed, and the vest is properly fitted to the wearer,

It will be observed that this adjustment is accomplished without openingthe front lining or disturbing any finished partof the garment (exceptthe old side seam, when necessary), for the side seams are alwaysreadily accessible by merely opening the pocket 2'7 or turning it insideout as above explained. Nevertheless, these seams are hiddenfrom, viewby the overlying flap 13 when the garment is finished, and this sidepiece provides asmooth and neat covering for the overcast edges 24,25and 26. I

It will also beappreciated that a garment constructed as above describedmay be adjusted to proper size with: less time and effort, andconsequently at less expense than the old, inaccessibly seamed vests;and that the workinvolved in making. such adjustments is not onlysimplified but also improved by providing my improved side seams andpockets.

The various features of my invention are set forth in the followingclaims, and it will be understood thatthe structural'details ofthe-particular garment herein illustrated and described may be varied asdesired without departing from the spirit of this invention.

l. A waistcoat comprising a front section and a back section havingtheir complemental margins stitched together with their edgessubstantially in registration, thereby to provide a connecting seamremote from said edges, andla side 5 piece secured along one of itsmargins to said sectionsadjacent said seam and constituting a flapoverlyinglsaid stitched margins in normal position, said flap beingstitched at its upper and lower ends to said back section, and having anedge substantially parallel to said seam and free fromv said backsection, thereby .to provide a pocket affording access to said seam forthe purpose of adjusting the width of the vest.

2. A method of making a waistcoat which consists in superposing a frontsection upon a back section with their outer surfaces face to face,placing a side piece on the front section so that the complementalmargins of the three parts are substantially in registration, stitchinga seam along said superposed margins remote from the edges thereof,thereby to provide a sideseam of the waistcoat, stitching the respectiveends of the side piece to the back piece, to form a pocket, and turningsaid pocket right side out so that the side piece hides said seam andsaid margins.

-3. Inthe method of constructing a vest, the

steps which include assembling separate front and'back sections withtheir outer surfaces face to face, placing a separate side piece uponthe inner surface of the front section so that the unfinished edges ofthe three pieces are in substantial registration, stitching a main seamto join the three pieces-remote from-the unfinished edges thereof,then'stitching seams transverseto the main seam to join'the free ends oftheside piece to the back section, and to form a pocket between the sidepiece and the back section, stitching and finishing the rough edges ofthe front and back sections and the side piece sub: stantially parallelto the main seam and finishing the rough edges of the side piece and theback section substantially parallel to the-transverse seams, thenturning said pocket inside out to conceal said seams and said finishededges within the reversed pocket. 4.1m the method of making a vest, thesteps which include superposing a. lined front section and back sectionwith their outer surfaces face to face and laying a separate side pieceupon the lined surface of thefront so. that: the; unfinished edges ofthe sections and separate piece are insubstantial registration,stitching a main seam to join the several plies of superposed materialremote from the unfinished edges thereof, then stitching seamstransverse to the first seam through the two pliesof materialconstituting the side piece and, back section and positioned beyond andfree of the upper and lower edges of the lined front section whereby apocket is formed between said side piece and the back section, thenfinishing the rough edges by over-H cast stitches carried around thecorners and along the ends of the side piece substantially parallel tothe first-mentioned seams, then turning said pocket inside out toconceal said seams and finished edges within the reversed pocket.

5. A'vest comprising a front section, a back section and a side piece,said sections and piece being stitched together at theirmarginal edgeswith the front section intermediate the back section and side piece, amain seam joining said sections and piece remote from the. stitchededges for fixing the size of the vest said side piece being furthersecured at its upper and lower ends to the back section, only, therebyforming a pocket defined by said securedends and main seam, said backsection being turned at said seam to concealthe same on one side of thevest, and said side piece forming: aflap turned at said seamto concealthe same on the other side of the vest; g

6. A vest comprising a front section, a back section and a side piece,said sections'and piece being stitched together at their marginal edgeswith the frontsection intermediate the back. section and side piece, astitched seam joining said sections and piece remote from the stitchededges for fixing the size of the vest, said side piece being stitched atits upper and lower ends to said back section above and below said frontsection and said back section and side piece being turned at the seam toconceal the stitched edges in the pocket formed between said backsection and side piece.

'7. A vest of the class described comprising a lined front section, aback section and a separate side piece, said sections and side piecebeing joined together at their marginal edges by finished stitching,said finished stitching being carried around the corners of said sidepiece securing said side piece to said back section only to form apocket betweensaid side piece and said back section, and a seam joiningsaid sections'and said side piece remote from the finished edgesthereof, said seam being accessible by reversing the pocket.

